


Per Aspera

by PhantomsDaughter13



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Horror, Egg Laying, Eggpreg, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Incest, M/M, Mpreg, Oviposition, graphic birth, hurt!Kili, protective!Fili
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-02 17:36:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4068652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomsDaughter13/pseuds/PhantomsDaughter13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a twist where the Mirkwood elves don't come and help Bilbo save the company from the spiders, poor Kili suffers more than the others. Fili can only watch. </p><p>Oviposition, egg laying, sadism on the part of the author. Read the tags, please.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have absolutely no excuse for this. With the general craziness of my life came this monster, and after putting it off for months and months, I had to finally put it into writing. I've been an admirer and avid reader of mpreg, oviposition, and eggpreg stories for years, so I am finally making my own contribution to those out there.
> 
> I do not have a beta, so all mistakes are mine.

Fili could feel the tremors rattling through his brother’s frame as he cradled his body between his legs and against his chest. His broad hands were wrapped around billowing ribs, holding Kili steady as he shook and panted in his grasp. His palms were still sticky from the tacky blood of those thrice-damned spiders.

“Kili, brother, just slow your breathing, you’re alright,” he said as soothingly as he could, tightening his grasp as Kili’s back arched and a grunt was pulled achingly from his throat. “You’re alright,” he whispered, putting his cheek next to his brother’s sweaty one and looking over to where Thorin and Oin were rapidly speaking to each other across the camp. 

Kili’s left hand clenched around Fili’s thigh as he breathed tightly through his clenched teeth, a stuttering groan catching in his chest. His back arched hard again and he moaned, hanging his head back against Fili’s shoulder with his eyes clenched hard as he fought through the spasm. 

Fili moved his hands down to rest on Kili’s hips, the tips of his blunt fingers feeling the unnaturally hot and stretched skin of Kili’s midsection even through his tunic. “Shh, rest back. Come on now.”

The sound of brush and twigs snapping under heavy boots caused Fili to look up as Thorin and Oin made their way back over to them, Thorin frowning deeply with worry as he knelt beside his nephews. Reaching out one calloused hand, he gently rested it on Kili’s clammy forehead, thumb stroking his brow lightly as he met Fili’s eyes. 

The sound of the other members of the company became softer until Fili looked around to see the fire unoccupied and the rest of the dwarves and their Hobbit moving farther into the trees, shooting back concerned glances as they shouldered their packs and left them in respective privacy, though they couldn’t move too far away. The woods of Mirkwood were beyond dangerous. 

Oin knelt before the younger dwarves, between both their spread legs as he reached out to palpate Kili’s swollen lower abdomen. A tight scream was caught in Kili’s throat as he convulsed at the pressure, the air being pressed from his lungs at the sheer sharpness of the pain as it ricocheted throughout his body. He buried his face into his brother’s throat panting shallowly and rapidly. 

“I’m sorry, lad, but I need to see what we’re dealing with here.” 

Thorin reached down and held onto Kili’s bicep as he bucked and whined as Oin unlaced and forced him to uncurl enough to remove his dilapidated trousers. 

Fili felt a bright curl of fury burn in his chest, swallowing heavily as he holds on a little tighter to his brother’s waist. 

Oin pushed up against Kili’s thighs more until they laid him bare, one of Thorin’s hands coming to curl around the back of one to hold it out of the way. Fili did the same with his other, placing a gentle kiss onto his brother’s temple as he whimpered in both embarrassment and discomfort against him.

Palpating from Kili’s lower abdomen down to his pubis, Oin smoothed some medicinal salve over the fingers of his right hand and then around Kili’s inflamed anus. At the first touch Kili keened and twisted, trying to free himself in vain from the hold of his uncle and brother. Fili took his free hand and placed it on the back of Kili’s head, threading it through his messy, dark hair and pressing Kili’s face tighter against his neck. 

Briskly, though with the gentleness of a healer trying to keep unnecessary pain from his patient, Oin inserted one slick finger into the swollen orifice, stretching it before putting in a second. 

Fili closed his eyes tightly at the wounded noise Kili made at the first intrusion, swallowing down anger and disgust at what Kili already had to endure. He could feel Thorin’s free hand coming to rest in the middle of Kili’s arched back, fingers spread wide and warm as he did his best to brace his suffering nephew.

Fili tried to focus on the sound of his pounding heartbeat instead of the slick sounds of Oin examining and preparing his brother, but it was hard to ignore with his brother wincing and shivering so terribly in his arms, breath hot and wet against his skin. 

“I can’t tell how many there are, but they should be able to come out without causing too much damage as long as it is soon. It seems like his body is already trying to reject them, so there shouldn’t be any risk of them breaking or hatching.” 

Fili’s eyes flew open at this pronouncement, horror thick on his tongue at the healer’s blunt words. Looking to the side, Thorin looked pale and sick beneath his beard, eyes gazing hard at the healer as he removed his fingers and wiped off his hand. 

“Let me just get a few things prepared and we can get started.” 

As the healer got up to boil some water and get his materials together, both Thorin and Fili lowered Kili’s trembling legs. Thorin rubbed a hand up and down the outside of the leg he had released, trying to get his nephew’s attention.

“Kili. Look at me.” Fili took his hand from the back of Kili’s head to let him turn glossy and glazed eyes over at their uncle, pupils dilated huge with pain and fear. 

Thorin reached moved the hand from Kili’s back to gently hold onto the side of his neck, massaging the rigid muscles. 

“Do you understand what is happening right now?” Kili’s chest continued to heave as he looked at his uncle, nodding spastically as his fingers clutched onto Fili’s legs like a lifeline. “Then you know we’ll be with you the entire time. You will not suffer alone, sister-son. You will have our strength as well.” 

Fili felt his heart clench and he held his brother closer. “I’ve got you, brother,” he whispered fervently in his ear. “I’ve got you, and if I could take this from you I would.” 

Kili breathed shakily a few times against the both of them before he grunted once more, and with his shirt rucked up and out of the way and his trousers removed, Fili saw how his entire abdomen seized up, tightening and pulling in as Kili’s back arched and he struggled to not cry out. 

Fili pressed Kili’s face back into the comfort of his own neck and rubbed his lower back. “Breathe through it, Kili. Deep breaths.” He noticed that Kili’s thighs trembled as his abdomen pulled in even tighter, his legs spreading and pulling back as his body fought to expel the foreign bodies causing it so much pain. 

Oin bustled back over, setting up linens and bowls, getting out a pommel and stone with a mixture of herbs. He mixed them together before pouring some of the boiled water over them, making a paste. 

“We won’t be needing that until after, but it’s good to get ready early. Now, lad, let’s get you back into position.”

Thorin and Fili reached out and pulled Kili’s legs up and back so that Oin could get to his entrance, once more slicking his hand with salve and penetrating him. Kili made another wounded noise at the feeling of his fingers, but Fili once more kissed his temple and lent their heads together. Thorin’s hand had returned to the middle of Kili’s back and Fili’s other was braced against the other side of Kili’s ribcage. 

The healer felt around for a few moments, pressing in at the top with his free hand at the same time while Kili grunted in discomfort. 

“Alright, I can feel one coming close. On the next pain, you need to push hard and get it out.” Kili swallowed thickly and his breath shuddered, body still trembling like he was going to shake out of his own skin. 

“Here, lad, you need to drink before you start.” Oin handed up one of their water skins. Thorin grasped it and gently tilted Kili’s head so that he could swallow a few sips. His cheeks took on a green tint beneath his sheen of sweat, but he buried himself back into Fili and breathed heavily until they were sure he wouldn’t sick up the liquid. 

Thorin rubbed up and down the expanse of Kili’s back that wasn’t pressed against his brother, his face stoic as he adjusted his hold on Kili’s thigh. 

The only sound for the next minute or two was Kili’s deep and uneven breathing and the crackling of the fire. When the next pain finally came, Fili felt like his heart was going to explode from how much it hurt to watch him suffer.

Fili watched as once again Kili’s lower abdomen clenched and tightened, pulling back hard into his body. Kili moaned and went rigid in his arms, breathing speeding up and his face creasing in agony. 

“Alright lad, deep breath and push!” Oin called, once more inserting his fingers and pushing Kili’s legs farther apart. Kili rolled his head hard back against Fili’s shoulder as he took in a shuddering breath and clenched his eyes shut.

Fili felt Kili’s entire body still, the muscles of his back turning to iron and his face flushing pink as he held his breath and strained. A groan stuttered in his throat as his face darkened, his knuckles turning white where they were fisted in Fili’s trousers. 

The air rushed from Kili as he gasped, face wet with freshly sprung sweat and his shirt sticking damply to him as he panted frantically in Fili’s grasp. 

“Again, lad, don’t let it go.” Kili gulped air for a few more breaths before breathing in deeply and putting his chin to his chest. Fili adjusted the hold he had on his brother’s thigh as the slickness of his skin made him lose his grip. 

“That’s it, Kili, keep going, keep going,” he whispered. Kili groaned heavily and deep in his chest, lips pulling back and baring his teeth while his face creased with agony as he fought to expel whatever was in his body that shouldn’t be. 

When the pain released him he fell bonelessly back against Fili’s chest, breathing raggedly while tendrils of sweat streamed down his face and neck, his fingers releasing their hold on Fili as all strength seemed to leave him. Thorin reached the hand he had rested on Kili’s back up to gently wipe the moisture away from getting into his eyes, surreptitiously thumbing away tears from his eyelashes. 

Oin had removed most of the length of his fingers below, but he ran both fingers around the rim of the muscle and pulled gently, stretching and coating it with more salve to lubricate and protect. There was something behind the surface of his skin pushing out against the skin, rounding out the lower curve of his perineum, though it couldn’t be seen yet. 

The color was high in Kili’s cheeks as he rested fully back against his brother, his shirt sticking to him like a second skin. Even in between the pains, his face was pinched in distress and he turned his head back and forth slightly as if he could escape whatever horrible sensation was infusing his body. 

Fili leaned his head against Kili’s and breathed slowly and deliberately by his ear, trying to help calm his brother enough to have him rest when he could. Kili’s dark eyes caught his, red-rimmed and wild, and Fili breathed exaggeratedly to help him calm the frantic gasping of his lungs. 

A high whine alerted Fili that another bout was coming, and he tightened his grip on his brother’s thigh and pressed his lips to the sweaty skin of his brother’s neck. 

Kili removed one of his hands from Fili’s thighs and reached back to clench around his shoulder, grunting as he started to push hard, face darkening and a vein showing in his forehead. His nails dug hard, bloodless crescent moons being pressed through Fili’s tunic and into his skin, and Fili only wished that he could drain away the pain his brother felt through that contact.

“Harder lad,” Oin called up. Kili let out a frustrated gasp of air, head dropping back onto Fili’s shoulder before he growled and went at it again. 

He grunted deep in his chest as his entire body went rigid. To Fili’s eyes he watched as the bulge showing between Kili’s legs grew, his skin bowing out with each contraction. 

All the muscles in his abdomen had tightened and pulled back, and Fili swallowed hard to see the round, hard outlines of whatever was trapped in Kili’s body through his skin.

“That’s it,” Thorin murmured, hand moving to the back of Kili’s head and helping support him as he curled forward over his bloated belly. “Hard, Kili.” 

A keen escaped Kili as he ran through the rest of his energy and stopped pushing, grunting deep in his throat as he tried to catch his breath, his free hand moving down to press on the joint of his hip. His face was twisted in discomfort. 

Thorin moved his hand to squeeze the back of Kili’s neck, eyes watching Oin closely as he palpated Kili’s perineum and pubis. Kili’s entire tunic was drenched, and he shivered violently in Fili’s grasp. 

“You’re going to have to push harder, lad. This thing is big and you’re going to need a lot of force to get it out.” 

A look of sheer defeat and despair crossed Kili’s face as he pressed himself deeper into Fili. “I am,” he said roughly, still panting hard and sweating rivulets. Fili leaned in and pressed his forehead against Kili’s, reaching up to stroke the wet hair back from his face. “I know you are. You’re doing fantastic, Kili, just keep going. Don’t give up.” Kili closed his eyes as he leaned heavily on his brother. 

“It hurts,” he whispered, pressing his forehead harder against Fili. “It hurts so much.” Fili felt his heart clench and he reached up to the hand Kili still had grasped on his shoulder and closed his own hand around it. 

“I know. I can’t even imagine how much it hurts, but you are so strong, Kili. You can do this,” Fili whispered back. 

Kili breathed against him, and Fili’s eyes looked over his face, noticing the coming contraction with the frown that came between his eyebrows. Kili’s breaths became heavy, and Fili watched as his stomach tightened hard into his body, forcibly pressing the obstructions down, down, down. 

Taking a deep breath, Kili held it and curled forward, bearing down and pushing against Fili and Thorin’s support on his thighs. Fili adjusted his grip to behind the bend in Kili’s knee and pulled back. Using their leverage, Kili took a quick breath and moaned through a sharper push, crying out as his opening started to spread from the force of the object behind it. 

“Keep going, don’t stop,” Oin ordered, hand a supporting element on his perineum, though his skin was quickly turning white and bloodless where his body stretched slowly and painfully. 

Taking another quick breath, Kili arched his back and held so hard onto Fili that he felt pins and needles under his grip, though he didn’t care. 

With a guttural scream, Kili pushed again, thighs and body shaking as his opening gaped and trembled. “Oh, Mahal,” he growled, a tight sob hitching in his chest as he screamed and strained. 

At the end of his push, the slight shining of the shell of an egg peaked through the ring of muscle before Kili’s body gave out. He gasped raggedly while he held his legs wider apart, face a dark red and damp with sweat and tears. 

Fili took both his arms and enclosed Kili in them, doing his best to cradle him to his body as he trembled. He put a hand on the left side of his chest and felt the rapid racing of his brother’s heart. 

“Breathe, brother. Breathe, it’s alright. Take a rest,” he murmured against his hair. Kili’s chest hitched with aborted sobs, his eyes shut tight. The obscene bulge of the egg behind his skin had made the place where he stretched a pained white while the rest of him was an angry red. 

“It burns,” Kili gasped, “it burns.” Even with his obvious exhaustion, he was shifting and writhing slightly in Fili’s grasp, hips bucking slightly at the pressure. 

Thorin gently put a hand on his cheek and lifted the water skin to his lips. Kili took a few sips before his face twisted and he once more turned green. 

Choking slightly, he let go of Fili and hunched over his belly, gagging and wincing hard.

He finally lost the battle and leaned over Fili’s thigh to retch on the ground. Fili quickly caught him around the chest and helped hold him up, rubbing his hand between his shoulder blades as Kili gagged and coughed. 

He only brought up thin bile and water, but the dry heaving seemed to go on forever. With each heave and tightening of his body, Fili couldn’t help but see that the egg was pushed out a little more, until by the time Kili was hanging heavily in his grasp, the wet shine of its shell could be just barely seen while he was at rest. 

Fili dragged him back up to lean against his chest, wiping Kili’s lips with his hand and then cleaning his hand on his own shirt. 

Kili was weeping softly against him, his arms wrapped around his midsection while he turned his face into his brother’s neck. 

“Oh, Kili,” Fili whispered, giving an agonized glance to his uncle, whose face looked carved from stone as he watched the distress of his nephew. Fili reached up to stroke back his brother’s damp and sweaty hair. “Just rest, it’s okay. You’re okay.” 

Below, Oin was repositioning Kili’s legs, gently rubbing more salve around the bruising skin at his entrance. 

“You need to get it out on the next one. I’m not sure how many you have behind it, but I don’t want to you risk having to cut you open. Use all you’ve got.” 

Kili moaned weakly into Fili’s skin, and Fili bowed his golden head to rest against him, rocking him gently in his arms. 

They sat in the quiet with only the crackling of the fire making noise until Kili’s body began to shake with the oncoming waves of agony. 

Hissing his breath, Kili reached his hands up to lock onto Fili’s arms, which were still around him in an embrace. He pressed his heels in the ground, digging trenches in the dirt, spread his knees wide while Thorin helped by holding onto his right leg. 

Taking in a deep breath, his skin still a sickly pale, Kili grunted and curled forward, stomach contorting with the strength of his push. 

“There we go, keep it up, lad,” Oin said, fingers fully removed but cupped around Kili’s straining flesh. 

Kili growled out a breath before he took another one and bore down. Between his legs he was stretching slowly, so very slowly, the white orb being forced forward and spreading him wide.

Fili watched in awe and revulsion as Kili cried out, the egg started to push out of him, the muscles in his back locked as his body took over to expel it. It was white where it wasn’t smeared with blood and wet with fluids from Kili’s body. 

The deep, grunting, animalistic noises encompassed his every breath, and he arched his back as he vocalized behind closed lips, pushing hard to get the egg to its widest point. 

His thighs were trembling as he threw his head back against Fili’s chest, arching against him and using him as more leverage as he pushed the egg down and out of his body. Little by little it showed itself, cruelly moving through him at a snail’s pace. 

When it reached it’s widest point, Kili finally let out a blood-curdling scream, hands holding so tight onto Fili that he could no longer feel below his wrists. 

“Push, Kili, get it out,” Thorin said tightly from the side of them, though Fili only had eyes for his brother, for his agonized face, his contorted and contracting belly, for the intrusion that was obscenely spreading his body open millimeter by millimeter. 

Pausing to take in a few tortured breaths, Kili whimpered as he fought through the fear to start pushing into the burn of his body opening wider than it was ever meant to. 

“Push, Kili,” Fili whispered again in his ear, breathing hard alongside him, his own stomach aching in sympathy. “Push.” 

Moaning, Kili curled forward again, his stomach pulling in tight as he used his abdominal muscles again to heave. He let go of one of Fili’s arms and pulled back his other leg, a long, shuddering, guttural groan rattling in his throat as he gave it his all. 

Between Kili’s quaking, sweating legs, Oin’s hands framed his gaping and dilating orifice as the egg showed itself. Once it had crowned completely, he wiped more salve along its sides, healer instincts not allowing himself to feel the horror he should at the sight of it. 

Kili’s toes curled in the rocky dirt as he took a few more gasping breaths, head lolling back against his brother before he pushed more. He cried out sharply when with his next hard, straining push the egg came out into Oin’s hands. 

As soon as it was out of him, Kili was a limp, sweating mess in Fili’s arms, breathing fast and shallowly while his face lost all color. 

“It’s out, it’s out, Kili, just breathe, you’re okay, you’re okay,” Fili mumbled in his ear, once more rocking him slowly in his arms as he tried to look away from his brother’s gaping opening and bloody thighs. “You did it, just breathe.” 

Each breath Kili took ended with a whimper, his entire body shaking. His shirt was sticking to him like a second skin, saturated completely through with sweat. At their side, Thorin pulled off his furs and gently put his hand on Fili’s back, causing him to look up at him in surprise. He kept forgetting that his uncle was there, too. 

“We need to get that off of him.” Thorin gestured to the sticky fabric that had darkened with perspiration and stuck uncomfortably against Kili’s skin. Nodding, Fili reached down to grasp onto the hem of his brother’s tunic, pulling it away from him. 

Thorin took hold of Kili’s arms, weak and loose-limbed, and pulled them up so they could pull them from his sleeves. Completely bare, Kili shook even harder. Oh so gently, Thorin put his furs over Kili, leaving his legs bare for Oin to work, but tucking it behind his shoulders and around his neck. 

“No tears,” Oin called up, his hands and work hidden for now by Thorin’s coat. “No excess bleeding. Let’s just hope the rest of them come out that easy.” 

Fili felt a stab of anger in his chest at the notion that what he had just witnessed had been in any way easy for Kili. He held the dwarf closer to him as he sought to not only comfort his brother, but to comfort himself.


	2. 2

Kili’s breathing slowed as the shock of birthing the first egg wore off, his eyes opening slowly as he sought out his brother’s gaze. Fili gently rested his forehead against his, eyes locked on the pained and exhausted ones of his brother. Cradled in his arms underneath his uncle’s furs, the trembling of Kili’s body slowed, the pain absent for the moment. 

They breathed slowly together, puffs of air brushing against the others lips, noses brushing as they rested. Fili lifted a hand to cup Kili’s cheek, thumb caressing his cheekbone, removing tear tracks in its wake. 

“I can’t do that again,” Kili whispered, barely above the sound of his breathing. “I don’t want to.” 

Fili leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on his chapped lips, heart in his throat. “I’m sorry, love, but you have to. You need to get them out.” 

Kili’s eyes read pain and a shot of betrayal, though wan acceptance filtered back through soon enough. 

“I can’t stay on my back,” Kili said a little louder, voice rough. He turned bleary eyes down to Oin. “I can’t…push very well like this.” 

Fili turned to look down at Oin as well, hand moving down to rest on Kili’s chest, where he knows he will soon feel breath hitching. 

Oin and Thorin gazed silently at each other, Thorin’s eyes unreadable even as Fili realized that Thorin had replaced his hand on his upper back. He felt the flex and warmth of Thorin’s fingers against his shoulder blade. 

“Please,” Kili asked, voice cracking.

Oin sighed. “Alright, lad. Shift up.” He held his hands up and away, smeared with salve, blood, and whatever else Fili doesn’t want to think about. Fili and Thorin helped Kili to shift and turn over, Thorin laying his furs on the rough and ragged ground so Kili could rest on his hands and knees. 

Bare to the world, Kili exhaled heavily and adjusted his stance, fingers curling in the fur and his back bowing into an exaggerated arch with the weight of the eggs pulling it down. His belly still looked swollen and tight where it hung, an aberration of his frame. 

Kili rested his forehead down on Fili’s shoulder, and Fili lifted his hand to run it down the line of Kili’s spine, fingers following the protrusions of bone down and up, soothing and comforting. 

Thorin’s own hand rested on Kili’s lower back, so wide and long that it almost covered it completely. He didn’t rub the skin, but instead left it as a warm presence, solid and stoic. 

Oin did something to make Kili gasp and lean harder into Fili, fingers fisting where they rested. Oin made a displeased noise at whatever he found, and Kili panted hot and heavy against him. 

“The sooner you get these out the better, lad. Take a breath and push, try and start bringing the next one down.” 

Kili made a quiet noise of distress that only Fili could hear above the fire before he does as he is told. 

Taking a deep breath in through his nose, he moaned and pushed, legs widened, spread, as he leaned back into the strain toward his heels. He ended the push with a grunt, body shaking slightly as he panted and leant forward into his brother’s support. 

“Again.”

Fili would have glared at Oin if his eyes weren’t glued to Kili’s face as he heaved, face contorted into a distressed mask as he followed the pain inward, actively assisting his body as it turned inside out. Kili growled at the end of his push before he started again, face deepening to russet while the veins showed through his skin. 

When he finally stopped to breathe, he leant forward dizzily and huffed against Fili’s throat.

“I can feel it,” he panted. He looked dazed, blinking sweat from his eyes as he leans back a little on his hands. Fili reached up to wipe the droplets from his forehead. 

Kili arched his shoulders until the blades wing from his back, the firelight painting his skin in oranges and golds amidst dark shadows. His teeth were grit hard as he strained again, all the muscles in his back tight and hard as he used his entire body to push. 

The vibrations of his groans went all the way through Fili’s chest, and when his brother sagged against him again, he raised his arms and held him close, not letting him lean back. 

“Take a breath, brother,” he whispered, his hands once more following the damp line of his back. Thorin had not removed his own hand through all of Kili’s pushes, and it remained where it is, a solid hold keeping Kili in the here and now as much as he could. “Don’t hurt yourself.” 

Kili breathed wetly against him, shuddering lightly. He spread his legs and hips wider, sinking a bit deeper down. A choked moan accompanied his back sharply bowing, one hand rising up to rest on his stomach. 

“Alright, there’s the pains to help ya. Push along with them,” Oin said, his fingers once again feeling within Kili’s body. 

Kili winced and placed his hand back on the ground, grunting and leaning back on his heels as he caught up alongside the pain, his knees inched wider and wider on the furs as the next egg worked its way through him. 

Thorin pressed his hand a little harder down against Kili’s sacrum, light eyes sharp as he watched his nephew silently, looking down every so often to Oin where he worked below. 

Kili had his shoulders squared as he strained hard, sweat dripping in rivulets down his bare skin. His hair was sopping and stuck in lank tendrils against his cheeks, his neck, and the upper part of his back. 

When his next gasping exhalation left Kili with his head hanging, Thorin pulled back his wet locks, fishing a leather thong from his wrist to hold his nephew’s rebellious hair off his skin. 

With the sticky strands off of him, Kili dropped down onto his elbows, resting his head down on the back of his wrists. The top of his head nudged against Fili’s inner thigh, and Fili reached out to gently rub along his upper back and neck, keeping his touch light.

“A few more should do it,” Oin said, adding more salve to his fingers and then disappearing once more behind Kili’s raised lower half. 

*

Kili rocked himself a little on his knees, relishing in the soft touches of his brother on his hurting neck and shoulders before he achingly brought himself back up onto his hands, fingers curled in until he rested on his knuckles. When the next contraction came, he bent his elbows slightly as he bore down, tucking his chin into his chest and using all his momentum to push. 

The hard sphere worked itself ruthlessly through his body, muscling inch by painful inch and giving him no respite. The pressure was unbearable, an all-consuming weight within his lower abdomen that swelled and burned and tore as he strained against it and it moved lower and lower. 

The intense spreading of his body was terrifying, and Kili felt like his body was being rent in two as the next egg started to slowly move out of him. He whimpered and flinched against the feeling of Oin’s fingers tracing and stretching the tissues around it. 

He felt Fili’s hands curl around his shoulders and hold on, thumbs stroking the joins, and he focused on the gentle warmth of his palms while white flame engulfed him from between his legs. When his head started swimming from the lack of oxygen he stopped and gasped, letting Fili help hold him up. 

He could feel the shell of the egg holding him open, and he spread his knees a few more inches to try and alleviate some of the burning. The warm weight of Thorin’s hand on his lower back shifted, and Kili swallowed the bitter tang of humiliation at being seen this way by not only his brother, but his uncle. 

The egg was close, but he still felt more of its girth waiting deep within him. Taking a deep breath, he started to push hard without a contraction to aid him, growling and grunting hard as he felt his inner muscles forcibly yield to the egg as it crowned a few more centimeters. 

He had to stop before he got it to its widest point, dizzy and sick. He sunk back down onto his elbows, the entire world seeming to flux and shift in his aching head. 

A contraction seized him tight around the abdomen and made him moan deep in his throat, his lower body becoming rigid. Kili felt the hands of his brother tighten on his shoulders and heard the sound of whispers in his brother’s voice, though he couldn’t understand them amidst the turmoil and the sound of his own vocalizations. 

He felt the sphere ruthlessly spreading open his body, and he couldn’t help but gasp in so quickly his breath seized in his throat, mouth open and saliva pooling as he felt an extremely sharp bolt of pain from his opening. Oin’s hands went back to supporting him, but not before he felt something warm and wet drip down the inside of his left thigh. 

“Pant, lad, you’ve torn yourself a little,” he heard Oin call, seemingly from far away. Kili could do nothing else, an arm of steel still forcing his body to bear down while he tried to keep himself conscious. He panted open mouthed, spittle dripping down from his lips that he couldn’t bring himself to care about. The world seemed to be going dark, his breaths doing little while his death was coming from inside him. 

Right when he thought he was done, his life was over and he would die right there before his brother and his uncle, whimpering and writhing in pain, he felt the heavy sphere drop from him. His knees gave out, and he twisted just in time to not land directly on his belly. He took in deep gasping breaths desperately, shaking hands reaching out for Fili. 

He felt his brother gently pull him up from under his arms, holding him to his chest. Kili allowed himself to sink into his brother’s embrace, eyes closing as everything became too much and he let himself fall into the darkness where the pain couldn’t reach him. 

*

Fili’s heart raced hard in his chest, anger borne from helplessness making him grit his teeth as he held his brother’s limp body against his own. Oin was stemming the bleeding between Kili’s legs, and while it had been a little fission of a tear, the sound of Kili’s tortured gasp as his body betrayed him would echo forever in his memory. 

“He’ll be fine. It was just too much at once,” Oin said. “Give him some time to gather his strength and then he’ll be back with us.” He reached up and felt around Kili’s lower abdomen once more, and he nodded to himself. “Feels like there’s only one more left.” 

“Oh, thank Mahal,” Fili breathed in a strangled voice into the top of Kili’s head, the unnervingly still body in his arms making him tighten his grip, if only to feel his brother’s ribs expand and contract against his fingertips. Kili was never still; he always had an excess of energy that infused him wholly and completely so that he couldn’t never rest still, even in sleep. 

Fili lifted the hem of his tunic and used it to gently clean Kili’s face, bending down to rest their foreheads together when he was done and breathing slowly, relishing the soft puffs of air that showed his brother still breathed, the sticky warmth of his skin. 

Fili didn’t even realize that he had closed his eyes until he felt himself being shifted back against something hard and warm. When he lifted his head, he felt Thorin’s hand press gently down on his forehead and rest him back against his uncle’s collarbone. 

“Both of you rest for now,” he said in his deep, slow voice, the rumble of which had soothed the two of them from nightmares when they had been small dwarflings. 

Fili hitched Kili closer and tucked his face into the wild, dark hair.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who actually stuck through this, I applaud you. I should probably feel slightly guilty, and I guess I do, about this atrocity of a work, but I'm also sickly proud of it. 
> 
> Again, this whole fic has only been edited through a few times by myself, and I have no beta. If there are horrible mistakes, I apologize, but this entire story itself may have been a horrible mistake itself.

Thorin held the two slumbering dwarves steady against him, eyes taking in every mark, scar, and bruise that marred what he could see of his nephews. Even though he knew that they were adult enough to have chosen to accompany him under their own power, the protective anger he felt as he bore witness to Kili’s suffering made a deep sickness rest heavy and slick in his stomach. 

Both Fili and Kili had dark bags under their eyes, though Kili’s were puffy and rimmed red. There was a furrow between his brows even in his rest, and Thorin could see every so often the light contractions of his abdomen that couldn’t even break through his exhaustion driven sleep. 

Fili was holding onto his brother as tightly as he could, his grip firm and unbreakable around his shoulders and upper back. His forehead rested against the hastily trussed up dark hair of his brother. Thorin could still feel how tightly wound his muscles were, even as he rested against him. He slept the sleep of one waiting for the worst to happen. Thorin couldn’t blame him.

A quiet moan broke Thorin’s contemplation and made his eyes narrow in on his youngest nephew, whose brow was crinkling and his eyes were racing behind his eyelids. Thorin lifted a hand and gently stroked it down his face. He frowned at the heat he could feel coming off his skin.

“Oin,” he called quietly, looking up at the healer who was taking the time to look through what remained of his stocks. The older dwarf was facing them, so even though he didn’t have his ear trumpet in, he glanced up at the deep vibration of Thorin’s voice. He moved closer at a quick jerk of Thorin’s head.

“He’s feverish,” Thorin said lowly, once again stroking Kili’s hot skin as he moaned softly and shifted with discomfort. 

Oin’s face looked serious as he rested his own hand against Kili’s forehead, other hand encircling his wrist as he felt for his pulse. He hummed tunelessly at whatever he found, waiting a few more beats before he released Kili back into his brother’s grasp.

“His body has been, and still is, working extra hard. Once we get this last one out of him he can rest and it should sort itself out.” 

“Can’t you give him anything?” 

“You saw what happened with the water. I don’t think he’ll be able to hold anything down until this is all over.” 

Thorin grunted in affirmation, but his features were dark with concern. 

Kili shifted again uncomfortably, one of his hands coming to rest on the still swollen portion of his abdomen, pressing hard against it. He moaned again, twisting his head to hide it against his brother’s chest. Fili’s eyes opened at the movement, and one of his hands immediately came up to cradle the back of Kili’s skull.

“Is he okay? He’s hot,” he asked in a rough voice, clearing his throat. 

“He’s exhausted and dehydrated. Hopefully that’ll pass once all of this is finished and he can rest properly,” Thorin informed him quietly, large hand rubbing gently down Kili’s bare back. 

Fili made a concerned noise and held the younger dwarf closer, his hands spread wide as if to ward off everything that could hurt his brother with his presence. 

The three dwarves remained entwined for what seemed to be hours of waiting, Fili both wanting the next egg to come as soon as it could and for his brother to have as much respite as possible. 

But eventually, what will come will come. Kili had been growing more and more restless, writhing and twisting within Fili’s grasp even in his sleep. Both his hands were wrapped tightly around his midsection, clutching his own skin hard enough to bruise, no matter how many times Fili or Thorin pulled them away. 

When Kili finally woke up, it was to a contraction so painful that it wrenched a gasp out of him and curled his spine up and away from his brother, pulling him forward violently. Curled into a ball around his belly, he couldn’t even breathe as the pain infused him fully, and he could barely even remember who he was or why he was being punished. 

When he came back to himself, he felt the warmth of his brother curled around his back, Fili’s hands covering his where they dug into his skin as if he could just pull the last egg out. 

He slowly allowed Fili to pull him back against his chest, though his heart was racing and he already felt out of breath. His vision was swimming slightly and he shivered in the cold air. Nausea swam lazily in his stomach, and he swallowed hard against another series of dry heaves. 

“Alright, lad, let’s take a look,” Oin said briskly as he bustled back over, moving Kili’s legs back into position. Kili’s face became pale except for the red spots of fever on his cheeks. He whimpered at the tension already pulling at his muscles in his lower half, panting slightly as his grip tightened on Fili’s hands. 

Fili bent down and whispered affirmations and encouragement in Kili’s ear, hands returning the pressure. 

Oin seemed to feel around for an extended period of time, and the blond let out a breath of relief when he finally removed his hands and Kili slumped back into him. 

“With how exhausted he is, this’ll be tough, but it should still come out with little to no damage. The sooner he can do so the better.” 

“Do you want to be on your hands and knees again?” Fili asked, pressing a kiss to his sweaty cheek and nosing his temple. 

Kili shook his head slightly. 

“Don’t think I could hold myself up,” he whispered, eyes closing where he rested. “But I don’t want to be on my back.” 

Fili met his uncle’s eyes at this pronouncement and he swallowed heavily, uncertain how he could help. 

“Here,” Thorin said, voice deep and reassuring. Reaching out, he gently maneuvered Kili until he was on his knees with his arms resting around Fili’s neck, fingers clutching onto the back of his shirt. 

Fili wound his arms around his brother’s waist and rubbed gently, feeling the tightness of the muscles under the hot skin. 

Kili’s knees were spread wide on Thorin’s furs, and while his thighs were already starting to shake, Fili’s supported him.

When the next contraction came, Kili pressed hard into his brother, not quite ready to aid with pushing, but the agony of his body bearing the egg down was strong enough to have him seeking comfort. 

The next few pains were the same, Kili moaning deep in his chest, writhing to escape his body without assisting it in expelling the thing causing him the most discomfort. 

“Kili, you need to push,” Fili said as Kili cried out, his lower body a study in rigidity as he fought hard to escape what he was feeling. “You need to push it out. Please.” 

Kili buried himself in Fili’s embrace, rocking as the white-hot weight of the egg lowered itself even more within him. 

“For me, brother, if not for yourself,” Fili whispered in his ear, desperation at his brother’s fatigue and disassociation clawing like a warg within him. “I won’t lose you to this.” 

Kili breathed tightly against him for a few breaths before he achingly raised his head and rested it against Fili’s. His eyes were open, and he clearly was fighting through the fogginess of his fever to see him. They looked at each other for a long moment, no additional words or touches necessary. 

Finally, Kili gave a tight nod, taking in a shuddering breath before he closed his eyes. 

Groaning long and deep, Kili pulled on Fili’s shoulders for leverage as he pushed. Bearing his teeth, Kili kept up the push until bright lights flashed before his closed eyes and he shivered back into Fili’s embrace. 

With the next contraction, he cried out as he pushed, the pounding of a headache in his temples and the back of his neck sharpened as his entire body worked, muscles working to push the egg down and out. 

He couldn’t help the sob that bubbled in his throat, though he smothered it against Fili’s shoulder, rocking slowly once again as the burning once again made itself known between his legs. 

On the next strain, he bit down hard on Fili’s shoulder; he was unable to compress the agony he was feeling in any other way, his hands clutching tightly to the fabric of his brother’s shirt not capable of squeezing out the pain. 

Yet Fili didn’t do anything more than place his hand gently against the back of Kili’s neck, encouraging him to continue straining, to push hard, bear down, do whatever he needed to until this was all over and he could rest.

So it continued, pain after pain, contraction after contraction, Kili worked as hard as he could to birth the last egg that had invaded his body. 

Yet even with all the support his brother gave him, all the strength he worked up time after time, he couldn’t crown it. It hung heavily against his entrance, pushing out and against the skin and muscle obscenely. Nevertheless, no matter what Kili did or how hard he bore against it, he couldn’t get it out. 

When he could do no more, he wilted against his brother, moaning his name weakly as his numb hands almost lost their grip. 

“No, no, no, Kili, you have to keep going. Please, you have to keep going and get it out,” Fili whispered frantically, clutching hard at his back. 

“He can’t go on like this,” Thorin stated bluntly from where he had been observing powerlessly beside them, looking hard at Oin for answers. 

Oin was wiping down his hands, looking through his little bag of herbs while he muttered to himself. He pulled out some leaves and worked quickly to mix them into a bowl. He moved to boil some more water over the fire, throwing more kindling on it in the process.

While Oin was working, Fili was whispering feverishly into Kili’s ear, trying to rally his brother into continuing to fight.

“It’s too much. I can’t do it anymore,” Kili whispered thickly into Fili’s throat. “I’m sorry.” Fili closed his eyes tightly as a rogue tear escaped and fell down his cheek. 

“Don’t you dare give up,” he growled angrily. “Don’t you dare.” Fili’s own chest was heaving. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he felt another contraction tear through Kili’s frame, making his brother grunt and moan as he tried to gather enough gumption for another push, but it was no good. 

“I don’t want to die like this,” Kili mumbled. 

Fili’s blood went cold, and it took everything within him not to scream. 

By the time Oin had returned, a steaming bowl in his hand, Fili was praying as loudly and as clearly as he could in his mind, begging Mahal to bring his brother strength enough to survive. For if Kili didn’t survive, then neither would he. 

Oin looked to Thorin. “He needs to drink this and keep it down. It’ll return some of his energy, but mostly it’ll strengthen the contractions of his muscles. It’ll hurt more, but hopefully a few good ones will be enough.” 

Thorin nodded and took the bowl from him. 

He reached out and put a hand on what he could see of Kili’s face where it was hidden, stroking with his thumb until a dark eye peaked out at him. 

“Kili, you need to drink this.” Fili turned his head to look over at him as well, face a wreck and on the verge of breaking down completely. “This will help you. But you have to rally your courage and strength, nephew, and keep it down.”

Thorin moved forward to rest a little behind and beside Kili, gently pulling him back enough that he could tip the liquid into his mouth. He heard Kili gag as soon as the herbal remedy hit his tongue, and Thorin instead moved his hand to rest on his exposed throat, stroking down to make him swallow. 

He did this over and over again until the little bowl was empty, and he continued his ministrations until he was sure that the infusion had enough time to settle. 

When Thorin was certain that Kili wouldn’t throw up once more, he allowed him to rest fully against his brother once more, helping him move his hands up to curl around Fili’s neck. 

He handed the bowl back to Oin without looking at the older dwarf, instead running his hand soothingly up and down the line of Kili’s spine, the unnatural heat prickling against his palm. 

He was reminded of caring for the two dwarflings before him when they were much smaller, nursing them through the illnesses and injuries of childhood. No matter which one had been sick or hurt, no matter how minor or serious, the other had always been right there, fearful of the fate of losing their brother. 

Thorin swallowed hard. 

He knew the pain of losing a younger brother; he refused to allow Fili to know the same agony.

The next few contractions ran their course the same way, tightening Kili’s lower abdomen just enough to cause the egg to protrude a little before receding to rest in the same place. 

Kili wasn’t even able to push anymore, completely at the mercy of the muscle spasms working on their own.

Finally, right when Thorin believed that there was no hope but to cut Kili to let the egg out, Oin’s herbal infusion began to work. As the next pain ran through him, Kili’s entire body tightened, and he froze in Fili’s grip before he grunted and curled forward. 

“Kili,” Fili called in a worried tone, trying to bend down to see his face. “What’s wrong?” 

Kili’s arms had dropped from Fili’s neck, but they came up to grab vice-like onto his forearms. He gasped in a few breaths before he went silent and stiff once more, a low groan coming from behind his clenched teeth. 

Oin had his hands once more supporting the egg as it began to finally move forward, conscious of the tear from the last one stretching around the sphere. 

Kili’s nails scratched down Fili’s skin as the next pain came right on top of the other without giving him any rest, but Fili turned his palms up to grasp hard onto Kili’s wrists in turn. A wet cry escaping Kili’s throat before he began to involuntarily bear down hard, body bent tight around his stomach. 

Thorin’s hand was heavy against Kili’s sacrum, helping to support the skin and to provide counter pressure. Little by little the egg was finally coming out, Oin doing what he could to lubricate and aid its expulsion. 

“Close now,” Oin called up. “Careful, lad. We don’t want you to tear again.” 

Fili himself had bent down and over his brother, resting their cheeks next to each other as he coached him through, doing what he could to keep him breathing. 

Thorin and Fili flinched at how violent the pains were as they worked Kili’s frame into overdrive, though both were silently thankful that the suffering of the younger dwarf had to soon be nearing its end. 

Finally, just when it seemed like everything was going to work, a harsh grunt and stuttering gasp from Kili and a sharp arching of his back caused Thorin’s anxiety to once again creep up.

When Kili seemed to stop pushing in the middle of another contraction, Thorin looked over at Oin. The old healer had both his hands around the egg, helping the skin to stretch as best he could. Thorin watched as Kili’s body tried to strain again, but it seemed like Kili had reached his limit. The egg wasn’t coming out any farther. 

However, Oin’s face had a look of determination on when he looked up. 

“Thorin, move next to him and put your hand on his belly. He’s going to need some help with this.” 

Fili’s head flew up, and he looked hard between the two. 

“What are you going to do?” he asked, looking up at his uncle as he moved closer, gently unfurling his younger nephew enough to rest his hand on his undulating lower abdomen and the other on his lower back.

“Even with the herbs, he’s not strong enough to get it out on his own,” Thorin said softly, thumb rubbing soothingly against Kili’s lower back. “I’m going to help give him more strength when he pushes.” 

Fili’s eyes showed understanding, and even though his face looked unhappy, he nodded and bent back down to rest beside his brother. His fingers were white where they locked around Kili’s wrists. 

Thorin swallowed the revulsion he felt at what he was about to do to his nephew, but he knew there was no other way. There was no way Fili would be able to cause Kili more pain, and he would do absolutely anything to keep Oin from having to cut into him to save his life. 

So he took a deep, cleansing breath and prepared himself. 

When he felt the harsh tightening of muscle under his fingers, he looked to Oin who nodded. Closing his eyes, he pressed his hand in hard, pushing against the solid intrusion he could still feel and moving to push it down and out. 

At the extra pressure, Kili froze and then screamed, his fingernails biting so hard into Fili that he broke the skin. He tried to pull himself up to escape from the pain, but he was too weak in the face of the unbearable force squeezing his lower half to do more than weakly pull on his brother’s bleeding arm. 

“Hang on, Kili, it won’t be much longer. Just hang in there,” Fili begged. 

When Thorin let up at the end of the pain, Kili moaned weakly, body shuddering. 

“A few more of those will do it,” Oin said, putting more salve around the straining edges of Kili’s stretched skin. “Just keep the pressure even and slow as you move down.” 

Thorin nodded, but couldn’t trust himself to speak. 

On the next pain, he did what he could to ignore the sound of his nephew screaming, eyes watching the egg slowly crowning as he worked with Kili’s quickly weakening muscles. 

He was repulsed at just how large the egg was the more it showed itself, opening Kili wider than Thorin ever thought was, or should be, possible. And there was yet more egg left within him, and with another contraction, Thorin pressed hard with both hands to help Kili find relief. 

When the egg finally reached its widest point, much wider than the other two he had already delivered, Thorin was on the verge of not being able to take it anymore. 

Kili’s voice had seemingly broken, and while he could no longer scream, the breathy cries and whimpers were almost harder for Thorin to hear. 

“Stop,” Oin called up, both hands encircling the extensive girth of the egg’s shell. “We have to let this come on its own now. We don’t want any more damage if it comes to quickly.” 

With relief, Thorin removed his hand from Kili’s abdomen and instead ran the hand he had been pressing down with on his back up to grip the back of Kili’s neck lightly in apology. 

Kili’s wet, heavy breathing and Fili’s rapid and soft whispers filled Thorin’s ears as he waited with bated breath. Kili’s entire lower body quivered with how tightly wound it was, the muscles stretched and worked beyond capacity, yet still expected to endure for a little bit longer. 

When the last pain came, Kili groaned deep in his chest, and his knees widened as he gave one last, desperate push. The egg came away heavily, thumping loudly into Oin’s hands as a small river of fluids and blood escaped with it. 

“It’s done, brother, you did it. You did it, it’s over,” Thorin hear Fili whispering unevenly as he caressed the side of Kili’s head, pressing kisses to his cheek and temple. Thorin rested his own hand on Kili’s shoulder, feeling almost dizzy with horror and relief. 

Oin pulled over the paste he had made before all this began and liberally coated Kili’s bruised and abused skin with it, both inside and outside, not leaving any left. He wadded up some bandages and held it against the gaping and still bleeding orifice before he turned to Thorin.

“Turn him on his side,” he ordered, wiping off the excess paste from his hands before he helped move Kili’s legs as Thorin, with Fili’s help, turned his upper body. 

Fili supported Kili’s head in his lap, undoing the leather thong holding his hair up and running his shaking fingers through the strands instead. 

The bloody welts from Kili’s hands ran around his wrists like a tattoo, and blood still trickled sluggishly from them. Fili acted like he didn’t even know they were there. 

Oin gently bent Kili’s legs at the knees and rested them down, using them to hold the gauze in place. Kili was asleep as soon as he was lying down, breathing deep and evenly, his lower stomach only slightly puffy. 

Thorin gently put a hand on Fili’s shoulder.

“Lay down with him. Oin and I will keep watch.” Fili looked at his uncle before nodding gratefully. He gently rested Kili’s head down on the furs below him, crawling down to gingerly and carefully pull his brother into his arms. Before too long, he had joined his brother in exhausted slumber. 

Thorin joined Oin a short distance away by the fire. The three eggs were nestled together, seemingly innocent where they gleamed white and dry by the flames. With little to no hesitation, Thorin threw the eggs hard enough into the fire that the shells cracked, and whatever was inside bubbled and dissolved in the heat. The white of the shells blackened and grew brittle before crumbling. 

He then went to pull the blankets from his nephews’ packs, moving to gently cover both of them.

When that was finished, he went and sat heavily beside Oin, wearily running his hand over his face. Oin, hands wiped clean, silently handed over a flask to Thorin, who raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s medicinal,” was the blunt response he got. He snorted before he took a heavy swig, swallowing hard as it burned down his throat and chest. 

He stared into the fire for a long time that night.

*

Fili awoke slowly to the feeling of gentle fingers running along the braid at his temple. He shifted and leaned into the caress before he remembered what happened and his eyes flew open. 

Kili was looking at him, wan and pale, but with clear eyes and a slight smile on his face. His face was covered with sweat, but Fili could feel from the distance they were at that his fever had broken. 

Fili reached up for his hand and brought it down to kiss his knuckles.

“You should be sleeping,” he said worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

Kili just shrugged nonchalantly, wincing slightly as he shifted closer to press a kiss to Fili’s lips. Fili sighed heavily and cupped Kili’s face, thumb brushing his cheekbone until he pulled back. 

“You need to rest,” he whispered, brushing his hand back to run through his hair and cup the back of his skull. 

“I just needed to see you,” Kili said quietly. “And feel you. To feel something else for a bit.” 

“How bad is the pain? Should I get Oin?”

Kili reached up and snagged his arm before he could get up. 

“I’m just sore,” he said, though he couldn’t look Fili in the eyes as he said this, one hand reaching up to twist in his mustache braids.

“Kili,” Fili said seriously, stilling his hand. 

“I just…” he trailed off, before he swallowed and looked up into his brother’s eyes. “I can still feel them. Inside me. Even though I know they aren’t there anymore, I still can.” 

Fili didn’t know what to say to that, especially as heat borne from horror, fear, and despair welled in his throat, and so he pulled Kili in as close to him as possible. 

“Just hold onto me, then. I can promise you that there is nothing there. You’re as safe as you can be, and I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.” 

Kili tucked himself as closely against Fili’s frame as he could, allowing his body heat to work on his aching and overworked muscles. The phantom pressure within him was still there, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t ignore it. He tightened his grip around Fili’s back, and did his best to breathe. 

*

By the time Dwalin worked his way back to them the following morning, none of them had found any more sleep, though they all pretended. The fire had burned itself down, and all of them were acutely aware of what was mixed with the ashes and what lurked in the branches above.


End file.
